scholarly journals What Does Teaching and Learning Look like in a Variety of Classroom Spatial Environments?

2020 ◽  
pp. 187-201
Author(s):  
Terry Byers
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Traditional Classrooms ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
New School ◽  
Spatial Design ◽  
Engineering Mathematics ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Spatial Layouts

AbstractThe very nature of what constitutes an effective learning environment is undergoing substantial re-imagination. Authors have suggested that the affordances of existing learning spaces, often termed conventional or traditional classrooms, is limited and constrains the possible pedagogies available to teachers. Architects, authors and governments have put forward innovative learning environments (ILEs) as a better alternative. ILEs provide affordances thought to be somewhat better at providing to students learning needs than traditional classrooms, particularly in terms of creative and critical thinking, and collaborative and communicative workers. However, there is little evidence available to show of either spatial type (traditional classroom or ILE) performs pedagogically to either hinder or support the desired approach/es to teaching and learning being sought by current educational policies. One could suggest that a populistic narrative often drives the growing investment in new school learning spaces, facilitated by a vacuum of credible evidence of their impact. This paper will report findings from a three-year study that tracked the practices over time of secondary school Engineering, Mathematics and Science teachers (n = 23) as they occupied two quite dissimilar spatial layouts. The Linking Pedagogy, Technology, and Space (LPTS) observational metric, with its provision of instantaneous quantitative visual analysis, was used to track their practice, and student learning, in a variety of spatial layouts. Subsequent analysis identified broad trends within the data to identify those factors, spatial, subject or confounding teacher factors, which influenced student and teacher activities and behaviours. Importantly, it presented new evidence that works against the current, overt focus on contemporary spatial design. It suggests that greater emphasis on unpacking, and then developing, the mediating influence of teacher spatial competency (how, when and why one uses the given affordances of space for pedagogical gain) is required for any space to performance pedagogically.

scholarly journals The Influence of Learning Styles on Perception and Preference of Learning Spaces in the University Campus

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 572
Author(s):  
Shiqi Wang ◽  
Chenping Han
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Influence Factors ◽  
Individual Preference ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Traditional Classrooms ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space

Good academic performance will occur when learning spaces match or support individual preference and needs. This effect depends on environmental characteristics and individual attributes. Learning styles (LSs) have been used as a tool to capture the behavioral and psychological characteristics of learners in the process of learning activities, which provide instructions to address their learning needs. However, few have focused on the perceptual characteristics of learning space from the view of distinct learning styles. The research aims to identify which kinds of learning spaces in university campus have been preferred by students with different learning styles respectively and the spatial characteristics which have significant influence on the distinct evaluation results; the research consists of 178 college students’ LSs measurement conducted by the Index of Learning Styles questionnaire and their subjective assessment to five typical learning spaces obtained by 5-point Likert-type scale. Then, the key spatial influencing factors were identified by the focus group interviews; the results firstly ranked the learning spaces according to their satisfaction evaluation and restorative potential. The self-study rooms are rated highest, followed by professional classroom, traditional classroom, and multimedia classroom. Then, two dimensions of learning styles were proved as having considerable effects on perception. Specifically, there are significant differences between visual and verbal learners’ evaluations of multimedia classrooms and traditional classrooms, and between global and sequential learners’ evaluations of multimedia classrooms, informal learning spaces, and learning buildings. The other two dimensions including perceiving and remembering have no obvious impacts on learners’ perception of any learning spaces. At last, the important influence factors of perceptions of five typical learning spaces were identified, respectively, and their different effects on various groups were discussed. For example, the serious atmosphere in traditional classrooms was regarded as a motivation for sensing learners but a stress for intuitive learners. The studies emphasize the perceptual difference on learning space in terms of students’ unique learning styles and key points for each kind of learning space with regard to satisfaction of personalized needs. However, before it can be used by designers as tools, more research is needed.

scholarly journals Transforming learning spaces for multilingual interaction: the outcomes of a workshop delivered at the 2020 eLearning Symposium

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Cecilia Goria ◽  
Lea Guetta
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Space Design ◽  
Life Long Learning ◽  
Multilingual Communication ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Ongoing Development

The design of innovative learning spaces currently affects different educational sectors, including university teaching and learning. A parallel can be identified between the weakening of the specialisation of spaces for formal, informal, life-long learning, social interaction, and leisure and the blurring of the boundaries between work/learning and social engagement. Furthermore, a user-centred approach to space design mirrors the ongoing development towards student-centred education and the emphasis on making these spaces digitally competitive equally reflects the increasing integration of technologies in teaching and learning. This contribution is the report of a workshop delivered at the eLearning Symposium, 24th January 2020, Southampton, which explored possible designs for a learning space conducive of multilingual communication, collaboration, and creativity.

scholarly journals Foreword

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
J.D. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Student Body ◽  
The Past ◽  
Diverse Student Body ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Innovative Learning Environments ◽  
Educational Importance

Over the past few decades, researchers have produced a body of literature that examines the educational importance of space, finding that how learning spaces are laid out, furnished, and equipped makes a difference to the teaching and learning process. Put another way, the formal learning spaces in which much teaching takes place, such as classrooms and laboratories, are not neutral. Different types of classrooms can facilitate, or retard, the implementation of different teaching techniques, and we have only begun to study the ways in which innovative learning environments may enhance equity in the education of our increasingly diverse student body.

scholarly journals Summative Assessment in Second Life: A Case Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Remy Olasoji ◽  
Stephanie Henderson-Begg
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Summative Assessment ◽  
Traditional Classrooms ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Online Learning Environments ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
Virtual World Environments

Learning spaces like 3D virtual world environments are recent additions to technological tools believed to have the potential to transform educational processes, especially in flexible / distance education.  The immersiveness of the environment affords opportunities for a sense presence lacking from traditional online learning environments.  Geographically dispersed students are able to learn in an environment similar to their traditional classrooms without forfeiting the ability to learn at own pace and in their own time. Many educational establishments are however still trying to work out how to use these environments effectively for teaching and learning.  Using the environment for assessment adds another level of complication and has been subjected to mixed reviews. Issues relating to matching avatars with ‘real’ students, accessibility and fairness etc., make assessment in Second Life a contentious subject. Many agree however that Second Life offers opportunities for students to enhance their skills in several areas which include scripting, graphics design and 3D object creation.  This article explores a case study which used Second Life for summative assessment with a group of 5 students on MSc Applications of Bioinformatics programme.

scholarly journals Landscapes of Knowledge and Innovative Learning Experiences

2021 ◽  
pp. 347-352
Author(s):  
Massimo Faiferri ◽  
Samanta Bartocci
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Spatial Design ◽  
Ordinary Meaning ◽  
Educational Spaces ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
The City

AbstractIn these historic times, when there is a crucial shift in the way we consider the cultural and architectural aspects of learning spaces, it is important to investigate the role this spatial resource plays in the urban context. This, so we can understand the need to break with the outdated ideas about school that are deeply rooted in our society. There is common ground between architecture and pedagogy, a possible dialogue between space and knowledge, which can generate new explorations into the ordinary meaning of educational spaces and landscapes of knowledge, as a chance to expand the concept of inhabiting a space and how that impacts the world, and to devise a new urban condition. By first considering cities as a broad, extended learning space, we provide a chance and an incentive to reflect on the role of spatial design. The city is an important educational tool, since it represents a space of discovery, growth, socialization, tension, conflict and adventure. It is also where autonomy, adaptive intelligence and relational skills are developed. A new relationship between school and the city defines the future of learning and civilized co-existence.

Case studies on the transition from traditional classrooms to innovative learning environments: Emerging strategies for success

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raechel French ◽  
Wesley Imms ◽  
Marian Mahat
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Traditional Classrooms ◽  
Teaching Culture ◽  
Successful Transition ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Innovative Learning Environments ◽  
Pedagogical Goals

This article explores the characteristics of a successful transition of a school from traditional classrooms to an innovative learning environment. Many schools today are converting traditional classrooms into spaces which are flexible, supporting a wide array of teaching and learning possibilities (i.e. an ‘innovative learning environment’). These schools envision a future in which teaching, culture and space align to result in engaged students achieving deep learning. Many of these schools, however, fail to align teaching practices, organisational structures and leadership with their design’s intended vision. This results in a misalignment between the pedagogical goals of the building and its subsequent use. Through case studies of four schools in Australia and New Zealand, this study identifies the commonalities between the schools’ independent transitions resulting in four shared characteristics of a successful transition from traditional to innovative learning environments – Culture, Nudges, Structure and Expectations. Within each characteristic, specific strategies are provided to enable alignment between the design and use of a school building.

scholarly journals ROLE OF LEARNING SPACES IN LEARNING LANGUAGES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aigerim Shilibekova
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
English Only ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Development Of Language

This article presents a literature review of selected studies devoted to the research of the features of learning spaces and their impact on the development of language competencies of teachers and students. The presented review is a part of a comprehensive project to develop a conceptual framework and conduct empirical research based on “English Only Space” (EOS) – an innovative learning space implemented at Atyrau State University. When designing EOS, the author used an approach that defines, under the learning space, or, according to the OECD Concept (2013), the physical environment of learning, “physical spaces (including formal and non-formal) in which teachers and students interact, content (content), equipment and technology.” Practical decisions in designing this learning space were based on a detailed analysis of the latest publications from different disciplines, comparing various authors’ views and determining new trends in a number of fields such as philology, applied linguistics, pedagogy, psychology, and ecology. Such approach allowed achieving conditions when language teaching and learning turns into an instrument of interdisciplinary cognition, and the physical environment provides affordances formanaging resources efficiently in order to achieve maximum learning outcome. At the same time, the present literature review served as a driver for an active start for further practice-oriented research in EOS based on two assumptions: the need to search and develop unique ways of learning English, exploring a wide range of influencing (environmental) factors; the fulfillment of the main purpose of the space if it promotes and supports experiences that promote learning and the achievement of learning outcomes.

Teaching Adult Second Language Learners Who Are Emergent Readers

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 120-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Bigelow ◽  
Patsy Vinogradov
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
Emergent Readers ◽  
Print Literacy ◽  
Historical Issues

Some second language (L2) learners are unique in that they bring low print literacy and limited formal schooling to the language learning enterprise. A range of personal, economic, historical, and political circumstances bring them to highly literate, industrialized societies where print literacy becomes not only desirable but necessary to earn a living and participate in a range of everyday activities. This article is a review of current research related to this population of learners for the purpose of informing educators about their particular teaching and learning needs. While the emphasis is on scholarship focused on adult L2 emergent readers, attention is also given to related research with bi- and multilingual children and monolingual adults who are not print literate. Finally, sociopolitical and historical issues are touched upon with regard to broader policy matters that may have contributed to or perpetuate low print literacy.

scholarly journals Making the Case for Space: The Effect of Learning Spaces on Teaching and Learning

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Byers ◽  
Wesley Imms ◽  
Elizabeth Hartnell-Young
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Spaces
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document